Apocalypse, Not! Doomsday Facebook Posts Spread Gift Card Scam

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What better way to prepare for the inevitable end of all human
civilization than by filling out an annoying survey on Facebook
in the hopes of scoring a free Starbucks gift card?

For nearly a month, a scam has been making the rounds on Facebook
claiming to have a "Leaked NASA video" confirming that the Mayans
were right, and that the apocalypse will happen on Dec. 21, 2012.
As
GFI Labs explained, the message, "2012 Doomsday
Confirmed: NASA Warns Be Prepared!!" asks users first to share
the link, and then redirects them to a Web page where they are
asked to fill out a survey in exchange for proof of the
apocalypse.

GFI Labs is quick to dispel the hype: "What finer way to ward off
death by asteroid, mystical fire, machine-gun toting dinosaurs
and maybe even the odd alien invasion by, er, liking some random
Facebook thing and nabbing a gift card?"

But it's not just any gift card, it’s a £100 (about $161)
Starbucks gift card! Actually, there's no gift card, it's just a
sweet-sounding lure. But you won't know that until you hand over
your name, ZIP code, phone number, date of birth and email
address to the survey scammers, all of which better sets them up
to launch targeted
phishing and malware attacks against you.

As with most successful Internet scams, this one taps into
people's curiosity and fear. Mixed with an "exclusive video" and
a (fake) seal of approval from NASA, it's not surprising the
original scam post has been clicked more than 100,000 times since
March 28.

Avoid these obvious traps by using basic common sense and taking
unsolicited emails and messages, especially on Facebook, with a
healthy dose of skepticism. Don't click on links or videos on
Facebook that seem suspicious, and make sure you keep your
computer's
anti-virus software up-to-date in the event your
catastrophe curiosity gets the best of you.